scholarly journals Black-White Differences in Self-Reported Disability Outcomes in the U.S.: Early Childhood to Older Adulthood

2011 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 834-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani M. Nuru-Jeter ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
Esme Fuller-Thomson

Objective. We examined black-white differences in activities of daily living (ADLs), functional limitations (FLs), vision/hearing/sensory impairment, and memory/learning problems in a large, nationally representative sample of community-dwelling and institutionalized people across the lifespan. Methods. Data are from the 2006 American Community Survey ( n=2,288,800). We included data on non-Hispanic black respondents (125,985 males and 145,780 females) and non-Hispanic white respondents (977,792 males and 1,039,243 females) ≥5 years of age. We used logistic regression to examine the black-white odds for each disability outcome. The overall response rate was 97.5%. Results. For FLs, ADL limitations, and memory/learning problems, black people experienced higher odds of disability across the adult lifespan compared with white people. Black-white differences narrowed in older age. For vision/hearing problems, a black-white crossover was found in older age (≥85 years), where odds of vision/hearing problems were lower among black people than among white people. For all disability outcomes, black-white differences peaked in midlife (50–69 years of age), with black people having approximately 1.5 to two times the odds of disabilities as their white peers. Conclusions. The study findings suggest the need to address black-white disparities across a range of disability outcomes throughout the lifespan. Future work identifying the factors accounting for this pattern of disparities will help inform the development of appropriate prevention strategies.

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 905-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNI BLOMGREN ◽  
ELIZABETH BREEZE ◽  
SEPPO KOSKINEN ◽  
PEKKA MARTIKAINEN

ABSTRACTFuture increases in need of old-age care warrant research on receipt of informal care among older people in different policy and cultural contexts. Separating informal care into help provided by spouse and by children may shed more light on dynamics of informal help, important in alleviating the demands on the formal sector. Using nationally representative data from England and Finland, we performed logistic regression analyses to study receipt of help from spouse and children among community-dwelling persons aged 70+ years with functional limitations. In both countries, women and those with more functional limitations had higher odds of receiving spousal and filial help. In England – but not in Finland – those receiving formal public help had lower odds of receiving spousal help than those with no formal help. Those with low education received more filial help in England, but no association was found between formal and filial help. In Finland, the effect of education was not significant but those receiving formal help had higher odds of also receiving filial help. The results suggest that in a liberal market-led state, the role of children may be to help their parents living alone and with low financial resources. In the context of a generous welfare state, children may function more as active agents bridging the gap between their parents and formal services.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110226
Author(s):  
Maisha N. Cooper ◽  
Alexander H. Updegrove ◽  
Shaun L. Gabbidon ◽  
Kareem Jordan

The racial gradient hypothesis of comparative conflict theory predicts Black people perceive the greatest social injustices, followed by Latinx and white people, respectively. This study used nationally representative data collected prior to George Zimmerman’s arrest to examine whether racial groups (Black, Latinx, white) differed in their perceptions that Zimmerman was guilty of a crime against Trayvon Martin. Logistic regression results revealed Black participants were 98% more likely than white participants to perceive Zimmerman as guilty. Latinx perceptions of Zimmerman’s guilt did not significantly differ from those of Black or white participants. Findings suggest some Latinx individuals may not fully appreciate how the same U.S. racial hierarchy that harms Latinx communities also works to produce anti-Black violence.


1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. I. J. M. Kempen ◽  
M. J. G. van Heuvelen ◽  
E. van Sonderen ◽  
R. H. S. van den Brink ◽  
A. C. Kooijman ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-94
Author(s):  
Christina Landman

Dullstroom-Emnotweni is the highest town in South Africa. Cold and misty, it is situated in the eastern Highveld, halfway between the capital Pretoria/Tswane and the Mozambique border. Alongside the main road of the white town, 27 restaurants provide entertainment to tourists on their way to Mozambique or the Kruger National Park. The inhabitants of the black township, Sakhelwe, are remnants of the Southern Ndebele who have lost their land a century ago in wars against the whites. They are mainly dependent on employment as cleaners and waitresses in the still predominantly white town. Three white people from the white town and three black people from the township have been interviewed on their views whether democracy has brought changes to this society during the past 20 years. Answers cover a wide range of views. Gratitude is expressed that women are now safer and HIV treatment available. However, unemployment and poverty persist in a community that nevertheless shows resilience and feeds on hope. While the first part of this article relates the interviews, the final part identifies from them the discourses that keep the black and white communities from forming a group identity that is based on equality and human dignity as the values of democracy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
Şahin KIZILTAŞ

The world has gone through a trauma for centuries. Almost all nations have experienced all sorts of traumatic events and feelings in this period. Among those nations, the black seem to be the most unlucky and ill-fated suffered from traumatic disasters. However, among those black nations, the natives of South Africa have been the most piteous and wretched ones. Their misfortune began in 1652 with the arrival of white colonists in the country. Since then, the oppression and persecution of white European colonists and settlers on natives increasingly continued. Those native people were displaced from the lands inherited from their ancestors a few centuries ago. They were not allowed to have equal rights with white people and to share same environment in public premises. The natives have put up resistance against the racial and colonial practices of white settlers which excluded them from all living spaces; yet, they could not manage, even they came into power in 1994. Today their exclusion and violence victimization still go on and they are still subjected to inferior treatment by (post)colonial dominant white powers. As a white intellectual and writer who had European origins, Nadine Gordimer witnessed the repression and torturing of European settlers on native people in South Africa. In her novels, she has reflected the racial discrimination practiced by white people who have considered of themselves in a superior position compared to the black. This study aims to focus on how Gordimer has reflected the trauma which the black people of South Africa have experienced as a consequence of racist practices. This will contribute to clarify and get across the real and true-life traumatic narratives of native people in the colonized countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Marie Lynge Pedersen ◽  
Anja Weirsøe Dynesen ◽  
Berit Lilienthal Heitmann

Abstract Xerostomia and salivary gland hypofunction are prevalent conditions in older people and may adversely influence the intake of certain foods, notably fruit and vegetables. Here, we aimed to investigate whether xerostomia and salivary gland hypofunction were associated with a lower intake of fruit and vegetables. The study included 621 community-dwelling adults, mean age 75⋅2 ± 6⋅4 years, 58⋅9 % female, who had participated in the Copenhagen City Heart Study follow-up, and undergone interviews regarding food intake (preceding month), oral and general health (xerostomia, taste alterations, diseases, medication, alcohol consumption and smoking), clinical oral examination and measurements of unstimulated and chewing-stimulated whole saliva flow rates. The average total energy intake (8⋅4 ± 2⋅7 MJ) and protein energy percentage (14⋅8 ± 3⋅1 %) were slightly below recommendations. The average fruit (234⋅7 ± 201⋅2 g/d) and vegetables (317⋅3 ± 157⋅4 g/d) intakes were within recommendations. Xerostomia and hyposalivation were more prevalent in women than in men (16⋅4 v. 7⋅1 %, P < 0⋅001 and 40⋅7 v. 27⋅5 %, P < 0⋅001). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that older age (β −0⋅009, se 0⋅003, P = 0⋅005), smoking (β −0⋅212, se 0⋅060, P = 0⋅0005) and wearing complete dentures/being partially or fully edentulous (β −0⋅141, se 0⋅048, P = 0⋅003), but neither xerostomia nor salivary flow rates were associated with an inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, after adjustment for covariates. Older age, smoking, tooth loss and denture-wearing were stronger determinants of low fruit and vegetable intakes than xerostomia and salivary hypofunction supporting the importance of dietary counselling and maintenance of oral health and an adequate masticatory performance.


Author(s):  
Nicola Camp ◽  
Martin Lewis ◽  
Kirsty Hunter ◽  
Julie Johnston ◽  
Massimiliano Zecca ◽  
...  

The use of technology has been suggested as a means of allowing continued autonomous living for older adults, while reducing the burden on caregivers and aiding decision-making relating to healthcare. However, more clarity is needed relating to the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) recognised, and the types of technology included within current monitoring approaches. This review aims to identify these differences and highlight the current gaps in these systems. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR, drawing on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Articles and commercially available systems were selected if they focused on ADL recognition of older adults within their home environment. Thirty-nine ADL recognition systems were identified, nine of which were commercially available. One system incorporated environmental and wearable technology, two used only wearable technology, and 34 used only environmental technologies. Overall, 14 ADL were identified but there was variation in the specific ADL recognised by each system. Although the use of technology to monitor ADL of older adults is becoming more prevalent, there is a large variation in the ADL recognised, how ADL are defined, and the types of technology used within monitoring systems. Key stakeholders, such as older adults and healthcare workers, should be consulted in future work to ensure that future developments are functional and useable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen E. Lee ◽  
Tushara Govind ◽  
Marina Ramsey ◽  
Tsung Chin Wu ◽  
Rebecca Daly ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is growing interest in the role of compassion in promoting health and well-being, with cross-sectional data showing an inverse correlation with loneliness. This is the first longitudinal study examining both compassion toward others (CTO) and compassion toward self (CTS) as predictors of mental and physical health outcomes including loneliness, across adult lifespan. We followed 552 women and 538 men in San Diego County for up to 7.5 (mean 4.8 and SD 2.2) years, using validated rating scales for CTO, CTS, and loneliness. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to examine age- and sex-related trajectories of CTO and CTS over time. Linear regression models were used to evaluate baseline and longitudinal relationships of CTO and CTS with mental well-being, physical well-being, and loneliness. CTS and CTO were weakly intercorrelated. Women had higher baseline CTO than men. While CTO was stable over time and across the lifespan, CTS scores had an inverse U-shaped relationship with age, peaking around age 77. There were significant baseline × slope interactions of both CTO and CTS predicting improvements in physical well-being in adults <60 years old. Increases in CTO and CTS predicted improvements in mental well-being. Higher baseline CTO and CTS as well as increases in CTO and CTS scores predicted lower loneliness scores at follow-up. Thus, CTO and CTS were associated with better mental well-being and loneliness across the adult lifespan, and physical well-being in younger adults, and are promising targets for interventions to improve health outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 589-590
Author(s):  
Thomas K M Cudjoe ◽  
Carl Latkin ◽  
David Roth ◽  
Roland Thorpe ◽  
Cynthia Boyd

Abstract Social isolation is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality comparable to well-established risk factors including smoking, hypertension, and a sedentary lifestyle. Specific mechanisms that connect social isolation to important health outcomes remain unclear. We examine the cross-sectional relationship between social isolation and two biological markers: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in a nationally representative population of community dwelling older adults (IL-6: n=4336, CRP: n=4178) from the National Health Aging Trends Study in 2017. Adjusting for age, gender, race, income, tobacco use, body mass index, and multiple chronic conditions, we found that social isolation compared to no social isolation was associated with higher levels of IL-6 (p = 0.043) and CRP (p = 0.038). These results suggest that investigating inflammatory pathways between social isolation and morbidity and mortality is important.


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